Social Media and the Law: Presentation to Joint Committee on Transport and Communications

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Digital Rights Ireland

TJ MCINTYREFERGAL CREHAN

Joint Committee on Transport andCommunications

20th March 2013

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About

Digital Rights Ireland

Founded 2005

Aims to protect traditional rights online as well as offline

TJ McIntyre Chairman, Digital Rights Ireland

Associate Dean, UCD School of Law

Practising solicitor specialising in IT law

Fergal Crehan Practising barrister with special expertise in data protection,

online defamation and social media

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Far from being a new

phenomenon

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Wide range of existing laws

Post Office (Amendment) Act 1951 S.13: Offensive, etc. telephone messages

Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 S.2: Fair obtaining/processing of data S.6A: Right to object to processing likely to cause distress

S.8: Permits disclosure for investigation of crime Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 S.5: Threats to kill or cause serious harm S.9: Coercion

S.10: Harassment Norwich Pharmacal orders Used since 2005 to identify internet users

Defamation Act 2009 S.36: Blasphemy

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Who needs to protect their

identities online?

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Children

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Victims of domestic abuse

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Employees and union members

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Ryanair v. Johnston

The [application] it appears to me forms part of awar of attrition that the captains are to be dissuadedby legal battle.... I do not accept [the] evidence thatthe investigation intended was bona fide. It is afeigned exercise and designed to divide those inIALPA from loyalty towards each other.

Unreported, High Court, Smyth J., 12 July 2006

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Whistleblowers

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Risks in applying an offensive

messages law online?

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S.13 Post Office (Amendment) Act 1951

Deals with particularly invasive messages phone call,voicemail, text

These are messages TO an individual not ABOUT an

individual

Expansion would

Criminalise every web page, online newspaper story, etc. whichwas intended to cause annoyance

Create a remarkably subjective crime Break the principle of parity between online/offline speech

Add to huge workload of Garda Computer Crime Unit

Comparable English law (s.127 Communications Act 2003) hasbeen extensively misused

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In any case, expanding s.13 would likely be in breachof Art.10 ECHR:

Freedom of expression constitutes one of the essentialfoundations of a democratic societyit is applicable notonly to information or ideas that are favourablyreceived or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter ofindifference, but also as to those that offend, shock ordisturb

Sunday Times v UK (No2) [1992] 14 EHRR 123

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Suggestions?

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Provide adequate funding for DPC

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Resource the Computer Crime Investigation Unit

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WWW.DIGITALRIGHTS. IE

INFO@DIGITALRIGHTS . IE

Thank you